Cowboys talk leadership with Defence

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North Queensland Toyota Cowboys CEO Greg Tonner shared his leadership experience and advice with young Army officers in a live webinar last week, as the relationship between the club and Defence continues to grow.

Tonner was a guest speaker on the Australian Army’s online education portal – The Cove – which is broadcast to Army locations across the country.

The Coveis an online professional development network designed to connect Defence members, based on their career interests and/or level of experience.

Command Sergeant Major of the Australian Army’s Training and Doctrine Warrant Office Class One Ken Bullman said the North’s NRL squad and Army share similar leadership goals, making the Cowboys a perfect fit for the forum.

“The reason we chose Greg to present was to give a comparative look at leadership and what the Army and elite sports like the Cowboys are doing,” Bullman said.

“The relationship has been built and is quite strong between the Cowboys and the 3rd Brigade (Lavarack Barracks) … so they share ideas and thoughts with the Cowboys on rehabilitation, recovery and athleticism.”

Cowboys CEO Greg Tonner described the presentation as "an honour”.

“The Army and Defence are great supporters of the Cowboys and it’s great to be able to also support them,” Tonner said.

“They [Army] asked me to talk about high performance teams and so I shared my experience over the last few years of what I’ve seen work and what doesn’t and what the key drivers of behaviour are.

“From a leadership perspective, in my experience, there is a natural correlation between the new lieutenants and new corporals, and new leaders in strategic positions in corporate.”